But the only ones who knew panty-thief Chiba was even in there were the girls at the shop. I don’t like the thought, but the girls are the only suspects that make sense. And their underwear were stolen, after all. That’s a fine murder motive, isn’t it, Conan?
Chiba, why did you do something so stupid?
“For starters, let’s interview the girls in the shop. But we can’t mention that Chiba was killed yet. I want to hear what they have to say before everything descends into chaos.”
“O-Okay...”
As Lupe and I served the cake, we asked everyone if anything weird had happened. To protect their privacy, I’ll list their testimonies with their names concealed:
Girl A: I was cleaning the hall on the second floor. Did I notice anything? Not really.
Girl B: I’m off today, so I was in my room.
Girl C: Cake? No thanks. Anything weird? You were making a stupid racket again.
Girl D: Girl A does a lousy job cleaning, so I was redoing her work.
Girl E: When I was cleaning on the first floor, I saw Girl C hanging around in the hall.
Girl F: I was prepping food for today in the kitchen. I think Girl B came in for some water.
Girls G-L: We had band practice. No one left their seats at any time.
Girl M: I was in my room and heard Girls A and D having a bit of an argument.
I have no cluuuuue! The only thing I learned from this is that Girl C really doesn’t like me. What did I ever do to her?
Well, I can cross the band members off the suspect list, I guess. That cuts out half. I can probably take off A and D, too. And—
“But no one could unlock the door, right?”
“Yeah. But I was thinking...”
I told Lupe to follow me back to the scene of the crime. Before, I was so shocked that I couldn’t observe things carefully, but there was something bothering me.
The shed smelled like meat and booze. The air was chilly and creepy, with an animal stink to it. Trying to avoid looking at Chiba, I explained my thoughts to Lupe.
“If the culprit came through this door and made Chiba drink something, I don’t think he would have fallen that way with his back to us.”
Well, if he thought he was going to be killed, maybe he tried to run away, but though he may not look it, Chiba is a level 90ish adventurer. If the murderer was one of the girls, I’m sure he had a thing or two he could have done before fleeing, even with both of his hands tied. Of course, once I say that, then the issue becomes that the only girl here who could kill him is me.
Whether he was forced to drink poison or tricked into it, the positioning of his body struck me as strange. He had fallen facing away from the door.
“And these walls are full of gaps. There aren’t any lights or windows, but you can still see with the sun coming in. This place is totally run down.”
In other words, if Chiba wanted to, he could have busted through a wall to escape. So why didn’t he...? He could no longer answer that question. Maybe he was just too stupid to realize it was an option. He really was an idiot, right to the end.
“Look at this.”
“What...? Footprints?”
The culprit had stepped in the blood Chiba had coughed up. It was only a partial print of the shoe’s sole, so it was hard to make out, but the feet were small. Probably a girl’s. The footprints appeared on several boxes and chairs stacked in the back and then stopped before the wall.
“Huh?!”
Just as I thought, part of the wall was missing. There was a hole just big enough for a girl to use. To test it, I tried going through and escaped with no issues.
“Lupe, you come, too.”
“S-Sure. I’m a little nervous, but...”
It was up high, so it was a little dangerous, but Lupe also managed to get out that way. Sun and chirping insects. The air outside was bright.
You didn’t even need a key to get into the shed in the first place. But if it was a secret entrance that not even Lupe knew about, the culprit probably had to be quite a veteran.
I glared up at the brothel. The one who killed Chiba had to be in there. I totally understood how they felt, but that didn’t mean it was okay to actually do it.
“Lupe, let’s inspect Chiba’s body next. I want to know precisely how he was killed.”
“Err, uh, uhh...”
Really, I didn’t want to look either. But at this rate, I wouldn’t be able to avenge him. I have to catch the criminal!
“Let’s go. I’m gonna track down the culprit for sure.”
I grabbed Lupe’s hand, and we went back around the shed.
Then came another shock—a shock so shocking I thought I might die, myself.
Chiba’s body was gone.
“Whaaaat?!”
Lupe and I both collapsed again.
What the fuck, I hate this. Chiba, have you turned into a mysterious phenomenon now? You are the biggest damned handful. Couldn’t you at least chill out once you’re dead? Your hyperactivity is off the charts!
“Did someone...steal the body or something?”
But it was probably less than a minute since we had found the secret entrance, left the shed, and come back around. Could someone really have gotten away with a dead body during that time?
We just stood there in the empty shed, flabbergasted. Eventually Lupe thumped her palm with a fist.
“Maybe Chiba wasn’t dead after all!”
“Oh!”
Lupe sounded so happy that I shared her relief almost before I knew it. But was that really okay? Then what was the blood? And his heart had stopped. It was still too soon to be happy. He could have just turned into a zombie.
This is a brothel in another world! There’s no telling what could happen!
“Anyhow, we have to look for Chiba, or what used to be Chiba. He can’t have gone far.”
We couldn’t find any footprints, and when we went out to the street, we didn’t spot anyone suspicious. And if a turtle-tied zombie were shambling around, there would be some kind of commotion. We didn’t see anything like that, either.
Then is he inside Blue Cat Nocturne?
We went back to investigate the brothel. Nothing seemed terribly different from the last time; some people were moving around cleaning or getting ready for later. The garbage bins were clean. All of the band members were in the shop. In the kitchen, prep for the food that would be served to customers was proceeding, and the plates from all the cake we had passed out were there.
There were no new objects or people to speak of. And no one was missing. No Chiba.
We went around and questioned everyone again.
Girl A: I was taking the trash out by the street. I didn’t see the panty thief.
Girl B: I didn’t see anything, but...Girl C was rushing around.
Girl C: You’re so obnoxious! What I do is none of your business.
Girl D: I’ve been cleaning the whole time. Girl A is so dumb, I can’t stand it.
Girl E: I was getting things ready around the shop with Girl F. The band was practicing the whole time.
Girl F: I was prepping around the shop. The band was here, but I didn’t see anyone shady.
Girls G-L: [omitted]
Girl M: Girl A was slacking off on the bench out front.
What is with Girl C?
Isn’t that a bit rude? Someone died you know!
We weren’t getting anywhere. Other than that girl hating me more, there wasn’t any new info. What’s so bad about me, anyhow? I really don’t get her at all!
I sat at the table with my head in my hands. I was so sick of how stupid I was that I started bonking it with my fists.
Chiba had been killed, and Chiba or what had been Chiba was gone, and there was nothing I could do for him. I couldn’t do a single friendly thing for him, even in the end. Even though he probably had regrets, too.
What the hell. These cheat skills are worthless. I never have the ones I need. For example, if there were a Detective skill, or a Buddy skill, or a Body-is-a-Child-but-Brain-is-an-Adult skill, then I’d be able to beat the crap out of the perpetrator.
I mean seriously. Dig? Bind? I didn’t want abilities like that. But it’s my job—I don’t get to choose whose powers I absorb. And the first person I actually wanted to sleep with didn’t give me anything.
I realized my body was emitting a mysterious aura. If this was how it was going to be, I just needed to sleep with someone. It seemed a little against the rules, but I’d just have to go at random. I had to just fuck till I got a skill I could use. Welcome to the underground in another world. Former Tokyo high-schooler Haru Koyama, 18 years old... She’s coming for you, other world boys!
“Haru, c’mere for a second.”
“Hm?”